6 signs you're a totally 'Basic' teacher just like me!

So…. I've been reading a lot of negative press about being 'Basic' lately and I'm like….that is so me and I don't care one little bit….in fact more than that…. I'm proud to be a 'Basic B*tch'

I adore Clueless and SATC, I use words like 'Totes' and count down the days until a PSL is back on the Starbucks menu and you can bet I'll be Instagramming a picture of it!

I'm not doing any of these things to be anything other than me and I feel that if I didn't do them then I'd be trying to be one of those cool, nonchalant, espresso drinkers who write the memes and blogs about 'Basic B*tches' and that would just be totes fake!

But this got me thinking… is there such a thing as a 'Basic' teacher and am I one? 

The answer to both of these questions is YES and YES!!!! 

Keep reading to see if you're a 'Basic' teacher and if you are- BE PROUD!!!

1

You post a picture of your latest classroom bulletin board and are secretly excited every time someone likes it- it kind of reaffirms the reason you got into teaching in the first place….to make things pretty! Duh! 

2

You have a love affair with all things Erin Condren and obsess over which cover to get. Add 'Basic' points if you post a pic of the box once its arrived!

3

You fill your wish list with about 1000 amazing products in anticipation of the next great TpT sale only to have to sit the night before excruciatingly taking things out of it because you know spending THAT much money would just be ludicrous…wouldn't it?

4

You have stars in your eyes for the likes of Mr Greg (The Kindergarten Smorgasboard), Aly (Just a Primary Girl) and Meg (A New Box of Crayons) and your little butterflies do a leap every time you see one of them in your 'Scope or 'liking' a tweet of yours. I mean….they are the Ryan Gosling, Jennifer Lawrence and Cameron Diaz (only mucho cooler) of the teaching world right?!

5

You have commented that Pinterest/Periscope/ Blab/IG is the best thing to ever occur in the world of teachers- they should totally earn you CPD credits or something right…I mean, the hours we put into them!!!! 

6

You turn your nose up at Comic Sans (but in a nice way of course) and can name a KG font from 50 yards!

If you could say YES to at least 3 of these then welcome to the wonderful world of  the 'Basic' teacher!

5 or 6…. we need to Blab right now- let's be blogging besties and totally have each other's backs- you are my kindred spirit! 

No offence is meant with this post- I can say a huge HELL YEAH to EVERY.SINGLE.ONE of the above statements and I am totes serious about the whole blogging bestie thing- email me year2tastic@gmail.com

I'm a #basicteacher and PROUD!

(All pictures used are my own year2tastic IG ones!) 

It's arrived….!

So a week or so ago I blogged about why I was choosing to move to Erin Condren for my planning needs and voila….here it is!!!!

Isn't it BEAUTIFUL????!!!!!!

It arrived last night- picture this… I'm lying on the sofa wallowing in a headache and self pity whilst watching Dance Moms when in walks Mr T with a big cardboard box….I nearly hit the roof with excitement, all thoughts of wallowing evaporated!!

As soon as I ripped the box apart I was in love, smitten, wooed! My heart, from here on in, lies with the wonderful world of Erin Condren and here is why…

Firstly, you can personalise the cover and it's interchangeable with other funky and inspiring designs! 

Secondly, it is full of super inspirational quotes all aimed at teachers- way to feel special! 

There are a couple of elements which are more suited to the US classroom than the UK but I think I've found a way to make them work for me…

The 'Holidays and Dates to Remember' page is aimed at US events but each month has space to write

in more plus I think I'm going to utilise this page to remind me of important dates for my Teachers Pay Teachers products.

I also won't get too much use out of this page as all our registers are done on a computer system and as I have the same class all day, every day then I have a pretty good idea of what my littlies have missed so I think I will use these pages to keep track of important letters they might have missed.

Now, I might have clicked the option to include more of this section- oops! 

It is basically a mark-book which will be great for keeping track of our weekly Basic Skills test scores, who has brought their homework in and who has returned letters but I'm pretty sure I don't need 21 pages of it! 

So….past the bits I won't use so much and onto the amazingness that is THE TEACHER PLANNER!!!!

At the front of the planner is a really useful page where I can note down passwords which is fab as we have to update our school email passwords about once per month and I am always forgetting mine! I will also use the 'Happy Birthday' page this year as I need to use the wall space I have my Birthday's up on for something else. Also this means I can always have their Birthday card ready on the right day! 

The planner is also littered with 'Notes' pages- a teacher can never have too many of those right?!

 I adore this page- I like to plan out how my year will go over the Summer break- including the kinds of trips our class will go on and when I need to make time for events and gifts- LOOOOVE IT!

I think I will use these pages but totally see how other might choose not to. I'm planning on photocopying the 'Substitute' page and leaving it for my supply teacher when I'm not in as I will probably have my planner with me wherever I go! I love the 'Reliable Students' space!!! Hahahaha!!! Now who would I recommend?! 

And now to the best part…..the lesson planning section!!!!

There is a monthly overview section which I know my lovely teacher pal and I will use when we sit down to plan our terms work- I love that the planner is date-less too. After each month there is also a note page for extra ideas and noting down things that are going on that month- fab for using in staff meetings.

Next comes a double-page spread for the week- again this is date-less so will fit with your school year. Each day has 7 sections and for me that is fab- it means I can bullet point my main ideas for Literacy, Guided Reading, Phonics, Numeracy and 2 afternoon sessions every day with an extra section for anything special which might need planning in. 

The planner doesn't just have paper pages in it- when you get to the back there are several pages of preprinted and blank labels, a paper wallet to keep things in and a zipper pocket for little bits and pieces. I also opted to have page protectors included which is where I intend to store my Medium Term planning. 

 Are you sold yet? Do I have a fellow Condren Convert? No…? Take a peak at the extras I got then…

I ordered these cute extras (above) but the stuff in the picture bellow came as a fantastic FREE welcome pack!!! How amazing is that?! 

WOW- that was a huge post- thanks for sticking with me! I did intend to do this as a video post but my phone kept running out of memory!!!! AAAGGGHHH!!!! 

I'd love to know if you chose the Erin Condren route- which cover did you go for?!

Thinking of joining the EC club? Use this link to snag a discount…

https://www.erincondren.com/referral/invite/lauratodhunter0921

Keep me updated on your EC news peeps! 

A teachers gotta plan...

                                                 Hi friends how is your weekend going? 

One thing I know all of us teachers have in common is planning but how we go 

about it…well that's a little more unique!

My school has a set planning format for both Literacy and Numeracy on 

offer if you wish to use it and up until Christmas this year, I did. 

A few years ago (political comment coming up) the current government made some 

changes to work and pay conditions. 

Needless to say the Teacher Unions were not impressed and, along with a string of strikes, called for teachers to work to rule. Obviously each teacher's stance on this was very personal however as a school we had to make some common decisions- if one person said no to doing something then it 

meant no for all of us and in our school this ushered in the end to planning scrutinies. 

Make of this what you will but whilst I still continued to plan away to my usual standard, others relaxed somewhat and so long as they were covering the non-negotiables this wasn't a problem. 

Why then was I still typing page after page? Well… if I am being totally honest, I was afraid! Afraid that if I didn't then I would a) be told off and b) forget something! 

Neither of these things has happened but why the sudden change to the way I plan?! 

A number of years ago a fell over and broke my left wrist (Yes! I had had a couple of glasses of wine…how ever did you guess?!) and it has never felt quite the same since. 

This hasn't been much of a problem though up until the past 8 months when my right wrist has suddenly begun to ache and go stiff and the fingers sometimes get a bit numb…

all when I have been typing a lot!! 

I thought about it and the 2 occasions I spend typing the most are (surprise, surprise) when I am blogging and when I am lesson planning! 

Well…a blogger gotta blog and there is no way around using the computer for that but, whilst a teacher gotta plan there is another way…write it out! 

I noticed on Instagram that a lot of my US friends hand wrote in pretty planners rather than typing-

 I love a diary and couldn't live without my multitude of sharpies or washi-tape collection so this totally 

seemed the way forward for me! 

I did some research and fell in love with the Erin Condren planners but, oh the price! 

I needed to know if this way would work for me before I shelled out on a beautiful, but costly notebook. So I decided to buy a basic Puka Pad and section it off myself.

I included an overview of the units to be covered each week and then dedicated a page to Literacy and a page to Numeracy. I made sure I included the nonnegotiable elements at the top 

(WALT and Success Criteria)

I simply made notes for the rest of the lesson with post-its for extra detail or changes I need to make.

This has been the biggest change for me- I am a self-confessed over planner! 

Notes just felt wrong somehow but I reassured myself that, having taught the same year group, in the same school, the exact same units for the past 8 years and having kept all of those in digital, 

if not hard copy, then I would be fine! 

Should I need more detail- all I had to do was pop my pen drive in and pull up the relevant lesson plan. Of course, I have continued to formally plan on the school's planning sheets for observations but other than that I haven't looked back! 

So...

Yep I took the plunge! It was a hard choice between the Life and Teacher planner for me but having read Sailing into Second's post and watching Dairy of a Not So Wimpy Teacher's video about how they use their Teacher Planners I was sold! 

My Erin Condren Teacher Planner is on its way…I can't wait! 

If you decide this is for you or if you already have one but would like something else from her store then why not use my discount code?! 

https://www.erincondren.com/referral/invite/lauratodhunter0921

How do you choose to plan? Are you a Condren Convert? 

I'd love to know...